“I don’t care what the unemployment rate is going to be. It doesn’t matter to me. My campaign doesn’t hinge on unemployment rates and growth rates.” Republican White House hopeful Rick Santorum said on Monday he did not care about the U.S. unemployment rate, perhaps the nation’s most closely watched economic indicator, despite being embroiled in a campaign largely focused on the still-sputtering economy. Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania known mainly for a strong religious conservatism, is battling Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and the frontrunner in the race to oppose President Barack Obama in the November election. Read more: Santorum says he doesn’t care about unemployment rate
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“I don’t care what the unemployment rate is going to be. It doesn’t matter to me. My campaign doesn’t hinge on unemployment rates and growth rates.”

Republican White House hopeful Rick Santorum said on Monday he did not care about the U.S. unemployment rate, perhaps the nation’s most closely watched economic indicator, despite being embroiled in a campaign largely focused on the still-sputtering economy.

Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania known mainly for a strong religious conservatism, is battling Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and the frontrunner in the race to oppose President Barack Obama in the November election.

Read more: Santorum says he doesn’t care about unemployment rate

Ann Romney gets it. She is aware that her husband, Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney, has an image problem. Critics say he often seems stiff and reserved on the campaign trail, and has difficulty connecting with voters. That isn’t a problem for Ann Romney. She is warm, composed, approachable and careful with her words. The mother of five and grandmother of 16 also has become the behind-the-scenes glue in Mitt Romney’s well-organized campaign — a trusted adviser who keeps a close eye on the news coverage about him and casts him as a personable family man. And as a worldwide television audience saw Tuesday night when she introduced Mitt Romney at a celebration of his victory in Michigan’s Republican primary, Ann Romney knows how to work a room. Read more: Ann Romney adds personal touch to Mitt’s campaign
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Ann Romney gets it.

She is aware that her husband, Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney, has an image problem. Critics say he often seems stiff and reserved on the campaign trail, and has difficulty connecting with voters.

That isn’t a problem for Ann Romney.

She is warm, composed, approachable and careful with her words. The mother of five and grandmother of 16 also has become the behind-the-scenes glue in Mitt Romney’s well-organized campaign — a trusted adviser who keeps a close eye on the news coverage about him and casts him as a personable family man.

And as a worldwide television audience saw Tuesday night when she introduced Mitt Romney at a celebration of his victory in Michigan’s Republican primary, Ann Romney knows how to work a room.

Read more: Ann Romney adds personal touch to Mitt’s campaign

More money is being spent on advertising attack ads against other candidates than support ads by political action committees, with more money spent targeting Newt Gingrich’s campaign more than any other. More from Reuters: Candidates 2012
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More money is being spent on advertising attack ads against other candidates than support ads by political action committees, with more money spent targeting Newt Gingrich’s campaign more than any other.

More from Reuters: Candidates 2012

Meet the GOP’s sugar daddy donor: 78-year-old Texas billionaire Harold Simmons has emerged as one of the biggest contributors to Republican presidential coffers — shelling out $8.5 million in 2011. 

Reuters Andy Sullivan gets to dirt on the tycoon’s generous donations.

Watch on YouTube | More from Reuters TV

Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum claimed a surge of momentum and fundraising on Wednesday, a day after his shocking sweep of nominating contests in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri that dealt a blow to front-runner Mitt Romney. Even though Romney holds strong advantages in financing and organization, his campaign will have to refocus to fight the challenge from Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania known for his socially conservative views. “We definitely are the campaign with the momentum, the enthusiasm on the ground,” Santorum said on CNN. Read more: Santorum claims momentum with win in three states
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Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum claimed a surge of momentum and fundraising on Wednesday, a day after his shocking sweep of nominating contests in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri that dealt a blow to front-runner Mitt Romney.

Even though Romney holds strong advantages in financing and organization, his campaign will have to refocus to fight the challenge from Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania known for his socially conservative views.

“We definitely are the campaign with the momentum, the enthusiasm on the ground,” Santorum said on CNN.

Read more: Santorum claims momentum with win in three states

Despite his strong showing in early voting contests in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney’s support among Republicans nationwide has dipped slightly during the past month, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday. Romney was backed by 29 percent of Republican voters in the telephone poll conducted February 2-6, down from 30 percent in a survey in early January. The former Massachusetts governor’s three rivals in the race to oppose President Barack Obama in November were in a close race for second, the poll showed. Read more: Romney’s lead dips despite wins
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Despite his strong showing in early voting contests in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney’s support among Republicans nationwide has dipped slightly during the past month, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday.

Romney was backed by 29 percent of Republican voters in the telephone poll conducted February 2-6, down from 30 percent in a survey in early January. The former Massachusetts governor’s three rivals in the race to oppose President Barack Obama in November were in a close race for second, the poll showed.

Read more: Romney’s lead dips despite wins

You have to wonder just what Mitt Romney was thinking this morning when he told CNN host Soledad O’Brien that he’s “not concerned about the very poor” because, he said, they’re protected by “a safety net.” Romney was, by all appearances, trying to portray himself as a champion of the middle class — “the very heart of America, the 90 percent, 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling,” as he put it. And, to be fair, he also said he’s “not concerned about the very rich.” But the statement still, O’Brien pointed out, might sound “odd” to poor Americans who are also struggling. “Finish the sentence, Soledad,” Romney responded. “I said I’m not concerned about the very poor that have a safety net. But if it has holes in it, I will repair them.” [Report: Grace Kiser] Read more: Romney says he’s not concerned about the very poor
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You have to wonder just what Mitt Romney was thinking this morning when he told CNN host Soledad O’Brien that he’s “not concerned about the very poor” because, he said, they’re protected by “a safety net.”

Romney was, by all appearances, trying to portray himself as a champion of the middle class — “the very heart of America, the 90 percent, 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling,” as he put it. And, to be fair, he also said he’s “not concerned about the very rich.” But the statement still, O’Brien pointed out, might sound “odd” to poor Americans who are also struggling.

“Finish the sentence, Soledad,” Romney responded. “I said I’m not concerned about the very poor that have a safety net. But if it has holes in it, I will repair them.” [Report: Grace Kiser]

Read more: Romney says he’s not concerned about the very poor

PayPal co-founders fund pro-Ron Paul Super PAC

Co-founders of online U.S. payment service PayPal, now owned by eBay Inc, donated to the Super PAC funding group supporting Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, the group Endorse Liberty disclosed on Tuesday.

PayPal co-founders Peter Thiel and Luke Nosek and Scott Banister, an early adviser and board member, put their support behind the Endorse Liberty Super PAC, alongside Internet advertising veteran Stephen Oskoui and entrepreneur Jeffrey Harmon, who founded Endorse Liberty in November.

Texas congressman Ron Paul, a libertarian, has been an unconventional candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, advocating an isolationist brand of foreign policy and a $1 trillion cut in the U.S. government’s budget. [Report: Alina Selyukh]

“Romney makes it rain snack chips.” -@BuzzFeedBen Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney tosses bags of chips to members of the press on his campaign plane in Jacksonville, Florida January 30, 2012. [REUTERS/Brian Snyder]
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“Romney makes it rain snack chips.” -@BuzzFeedBen

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney tosses bags of chips to members of the press on his campaign plane in Jacksonville, Florida January 30, 2012. [REUTERS/Brian Snyder]

Reuters on Politics: Check out the Reuters Election 2012 page, with complete coverage of every Republican presidential nominee hopeful and President Barack Obama. Get the candidate’s sentiment from around the web with Polititude — a barometer of how people are discussing the politicians on social platforms like Twitter. Read comprehensive profiles of every presidential candidate for the 2012 race. Hear from Reuters correspondents embedded with the candidates in our “Tales form the Trail” blog. And more. Reuters Election 2012 | Reuters Politics | Candidate profiles
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Reuters on Politics: Check out the Reuters Election 2012 page, with complete coverage of every Republican presidential nominee hopeful and President Barack Obama. Get the candidate’s sentiment from around the web with Polititude — a barometer of how people are discussing the politicians on social platforms like Twitter. Read comprehensive profiles of every presidential candidate for the 2012 race. Hear from Reuters correspondents embedded with the candidates in our “Tales form the Trail” blog. And more.

Reuters Election 2012 | Reuters Politics | Candidate profiles